Improvement in coal-tar burners



ZSheets She etI. H, A; BROOKE &'W. F. WRIGHT.

Goal-Tar Burner.

Patented Sept. 21, 1875.

INVENTORSI WITNESSES:

N.PETERS, PHOTO L THOGHAPHE 2Sheets--Sheex2. H. A. BROOKE 81 W. F. WRIGHT,

Coal-Tar Burner.

Patented Sept. 21,, 1a75.,

WITNESSES: V INVENTORSI A N, PETERS. PHOTO LITHOGRAPNER, WASHINGTON. D G

UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE HOWARD A. BROOKE AND WILLIAM F. WRIGHT, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN COAL-TAR BURNERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 167,873, dated September 21, 1875 application filed August 7, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, HOWARD A. BROOKE and WILLIAM F. WRIGHT, both of the city of Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements'in Goal-Tar Burners,

of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The tar which is ordinarily deposited in the hydraulic mains of coal-gas works is generally I of little commercial value, and various devices burners so as to coke the coal-tar therein, and

thereby stop up such discharge-pipes from failure to keep the discharge-pipes clear and from being overheated, and to properly atomize and discharge the coal-tar into the furnace and from the want of air positively introduced into the furnace through the burning fuel over which the coal-tar is introduced and burned. To obviate 0r lessen such defects is the principal object of our present invention, of which one part consists in the combination, with the hydraulic main, of an inverted tar-dischargin g siphon, a strainer, and a tar-receiving vessel, so that the crude coal-tar will be drawn out of the hydraulic main through the inverted siphon without altering the pressure of the gas in the main, and without loss of gas, and will be passed through the strainer, and thereby separated from the larger solid grains and tough jelly-like matters, and, when thus purified, will be passed into and retained in the receiving-vessel, from which it can be conveniently drawn off to the burner or burners. Another part of our invention consists in the combination, with a furnace, and a burnerpipe arranged to discharge coaltar into the furnace, of a reservoir or vessel containing coal-tar, and located above such dischargepipe, and connected with the latter by a supply-pipe, which is of such internal diameter and length that it will not be liable to be stopped by the solid, viscid, and jelly-like matters in the coal-tar, and will at the same time deliver only a proper uniform, or nearly uniform, quantity of coal-tar from there ervoir to the discharge-pipe of the burner, and the said supply-pipe being formed at its angle or angles with a removable cap or caps, or plug or plugs, for convenience in occasionally clearing the said supply-pipe of any deposits that may gradually accumulate therein.

Another part of our invention consists in the combination, with the discharge-pipe in communication with a supply of coal-tar, of pipes or passages surrounding the discharge-pipe and in communication with eachotherand with water-supply and discharge pipes, so

that the portion of the discharge-pipe which is exposed to great heat shall be surrounded by a current or currents of water circulating through the said surrounding pipes or passages, and thereby prevented from becoming so hot as to coke the coal-tar therein.

Another part of our invention consists in the combination, with a furnace, of a coal-tardischarge pipe, water-circulating pipes or passages around the discharge-pipe, a pipe sup-' plying coal-tar to the discharge-pipe, and an air-blast injector, whereby the discharge-pipe is prevented from becoming unduly heated, and at the same time the coal-tar is forced through and out of the discharge-pipe and into the furnace, and in an atomized or diffused condition, and mixed with air, which will help support the combustion of the coaltar in the furnace.

Another part of our invention consists in the combination, with a furnace, of a coal-tarsupply pipe, a coal-tar-discharge pipe, an airblast injector applied to the discharge-pipe, and an air-blast-discharge pipe in a closed pit under the fuel-supporting grate of the furnace, whereby the coal-tar is forced through and out of the discharge-pipe in an atomized condition and mixed with air, and into the furnace over; the burning solid fuel on the grate, while (A blast of air under artificial pressure is blowi;

intotheclosed pitof the furnace, and thence through the burning fuel on tliegrate, so as to support the combustion of that fuel and insure,

or assist in, the burning of the coal-tar above. In the aforesaid drawing, Figure 1 is a front view, and Fig. 2 is a partial sectional elevation, of a portion of i an ordinary coal-gas-retort furnace, showing a coal-tar burner combined therewith according to our present invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectionalelevation of apart of the same, on an enlarged scale; and Figs. 4 and 5 are sections, on a larger scale, of parts of the same burner.

A is the hydraulic main, mounted on the furnace E, in which are mounted the gasgenerating retorts N, which are connected with the hydraulicmain by the pipes O 0 0 as usual. B is an inwrted siphon-pipe, which taps the hydraulic main at or about the level vat which the coal-tar is tobe maintained, and which extends downward and upward far enough toform a liquid seal, which will prevent the gas from escaping from the hydraulic main through that pipe. The discharge end of the pipe B is below the level of the liquid 7 in the hydraulic main, and is over a strainer, G, on a reservoir, D, so that the tar will run from the main Athrough the pipe B, and thence upon and through the strainer O and into'thereservoir D. The strainer O is of such structure that it will permit the tar to run through it quite freely, but will retain the coarse grains and tough jelly-like matters from the tar.

The coal-tar thus purified will run through i the feed and discharge pipes of the burner far more freely and uniformly than the crude coaltar directly from the hydraulicmain.

P is an overflow pipe to carry off the surplus coal-tar from the reservoir D.

- In coal-tar burners heretofore made the supply of the tar to the burner has'commonly been regulated by a cock in a large feed-pipe; but

in such cases the regulating-passage through -the cock has been so extremely short that it -:required to be so nearly closedto allow only the proper small quantity of the tar to pass to the burner that the very narrow passage 11 through the cock was so liable to be stopped by the solid or thick matters in thetar that the burner required to be almost constantly watched and the cock very frequently opened 'd ucts the coal-tar from the reservoir D to the discharge-pipe G, whichdelivers the coal-tar :into the furnace E, and makes either the upper part q, or the main portion, of the pipe F of so large internal diameter that it will not be a stopped by the ordinary solid or thick matters in the coal-tar, and at the sametime so long and. so smallin diameter that the pipe will, by

reason of the very considerable-adhesion of the coal-tar to the interior surface of the pipe,

\ allow only therequired quantity of the-tarto pass to the discharge-pipe Gofthehurner. We

also make-such graduating feed-pipe F with a detachable cap or plug, r, at its angle or angles, so that, by removing such cap or plug, any solid matters that may ever accumulate in that pipe can be readily removed by means --ofa-suitable clearing-rod. The feed-pipe' F may, preferably, be intwo parts, slightly separated, as-at s in Figs. 1 and 2, with a funnel on the lower part to receive the tar from the upper part and to permit inspection of the flow of the tar, and to allow the discharge portion of the burner to be conveniently removed from the furnace for repairs.

The pipe G, Figs. 4 and 5, by which the coaltar is conducted from the feed-pipe F into the furnace, is surrounded by a pipe, I, so as to leave an intervening tubular passage, t,- .and the pipe I is surrounded by thepipe H, with an intermediate tubular space, a, which lattenis in communication with a water-supply pipe,J, and also with the space t at the end '0; and the space t is in communication with a water-discharge pipe, K, so that a current of water will pass from the pipe J first through the pipe H and passage u,tand thence through the pipeI or passage t, and away through the pipe K,

and will thereby prevent the pipe G from be ing heated. in the furnace to a degree which would coke or vaporize the coal-tar in the latter pipe. With a like result thewater may pass from the pipe K through theipipe I,.and thence through the pipe Hor passagem and away by the pipe J or, as regards this invention, any other equivalent arrangement of Water-conducting pipes along thecoal-tar discharge-pipe G may be adopted.

While the water-pipes; H I J K keep the coaltar from being vaporized or coked in the pipe G, the tar may be permitted to simply run out of the end '0 of the pipe G into the furnace, and there burned over the coke, coal, or other similar fuel burning on the grate w. We, however, commonly combine with the :pipes F G and H I an injector-pipe, L, Fig. 4, which -is in communication with a supply of air under artificial pressure, as from a fan or otheri suitable blower, (not shown in the drawings,)xso that a blast of air shall be discharged from the injector-pipe L into and through the tar delivered into the pipe G by the pipe F, so as to mix with that tar and force it through and outof the pipe G and into the furnace in an atomized or diffused condition over theburning fuel on the grate, and there assist in supporting the combustion of such diffused coal-tar.

In theclosed ash'pit X,Fig.i2, under the grate w, on which solid fuel is burned, isan air-blast discharge-pipe, M, which has 1 communication by a pipe,.g Fig. 1, with a supply of air under artificial pressure, produced by a fan, bellows, or other suitable blower, (not shown in the drawing,) so that acurrentof air under artificial pressure-shall be thereby introduced into the closed ash-pit X, and thence forced upward throughthe burningfuel on the =grate, and-thereby highly heated, so as to inflame and insure the combustion. of the atomized coal-tar introduced into the furnace by the feed-pipe F, discharge-pipe G, and air-blast injector L. t

We do not claim the straining of coal-tar; nor the passage of coal-tar through a pipe of a certain diameter and length; nor a furnace with a blast-pipe or injector therein surrounded by water-circulating pipes; nor the atomization and discharge of liquid fuel into a furnace by means of an air-blast injector; nor the introduction of a blast of air into the closed ash-pit of a furnace.

What We claim as our joint invention isl. The combination of the hydraulic main A, inverted discharge-siphon B, strainer O, and receiving-vessel D, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with the furnace E, the coal-tar reservoir D, graduating feed-pipe F, having the removable angle part i", and the discharge-pipe G, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the discharge-pipe G, in communication with a supply of coal-tar,

and the surrounding pipes H I, in communication with each other and with water supply and discharge pipes J K, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the discharge-pipe G, surrounding pipes H and I, communicating with each other and with water supply and discharge pipes J K, coal-tar-supply pipe F, and injecting air-blast pipe L, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the furnace E, having a closed ash-pit, X, under a fuel-supporting grate, w, the coal-tar-snpply pipe F, discharge-pipe Gr, injecting air-blast pipe L, and blast-pipe M, discharging air under the fuelgrate of the furnace, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we hereto sign our names this 14th day of J uly,--187 5, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HOWARD A. BROOKE. WILLIAM F. WRIGHT. -Witnesses:

AUSTIN F. PARK, JAMES T. GOODFELLOW. 

